Shahid Afridi reveals the name of the Indian cricketer who first called him by his nickname
Pakistan's Shahid Afridi was one of the most dangerous batsmen to feature in the game. On his day, he could go ballistic, creating such an amount of havoc on his opponents, that he could singlehandedly win watches for his side - just like the many, many times he has actually done it. His attacking style of cricket and the immense ability to launch the ball high and deep into the air at will earned him a very famous nickname: "Boom Boom".
Until now, it was not really known as to how the nickname came into prominence. It was often heard in the commentary, sometimes when his friends and teammates mentioned it, and for a short while, it even made its way into the Pak cricket's team's jersey - still it was not really known, as to where the exact origins of "Boom Boom" were.
But now, Afridi himself has broken the silence over one of our most curious questions, and he has finally revealed the name of the person who gave him this nickname. See it here:
Shahid Afridi was talking to his fans during a Q&A session on his Twitter handle on Sunday. One of his fans asked him about the person who gave him the famous title. Afridi then revealed that it was former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri who did so.
Ravi Shastri is the current Indian Cricket Team head coach. Prior to this assignment, the former Indian maverick - who is widely known for being the first Indian batsman to smash six sixes in an over in a first-class game - worked with several media handles as cricket expert and commentator, which was also the time of Afridi's rise in the international cricket.
Afridi announced his arrival into international cricket by smashing a 37-ball hundred, that remained a world record for several years for the fast ODI hundred. As his exploits continued, Shastri called the dashing batsman "Boom Boom" which became hugely popular.
Shastri is known for coining many phrases that become part of the cricket lexicon during his commentary days. Who can forget the likes of "gone like a tracer bullet", "pressure-cooker situation", "just what the doctor ordered", "India lifts the world cup after 28 years", and so on?
Afridi is on the top of charts for most sixes in international cricket. He smashed 476 maximums during his illustrious career and recently was joined by Chris Gayle at the helm. The Pak star announced his retirement earlier this year.